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'Defeat Jihad' ads cause stir in D.C.

The controversial ads are up already in the New York subway system. | AP Photo

Geller indicated encouragement with the result in New York. Following a judge’s decision in favor of AFDI, the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority adjusted its advertising standards to accommodate the ads. The nation’s largest transit system maintained it could tweak its advertising standards so as not to allow “noncommercial” posters and dioramas on its system, which could theoretically eliminate ads that are not expressly promoting services that can be bought and sold, such as AFDI’s ad.

Instead, MTA decided to continue accepting those submissions, provided they run disclaimers. Geller is taking a wait-and-see stance on those.

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“We will also be monitoring the situation to make sure that the disclaimer is applied [equitably] and fairly. Will it be applied to the ad saying that people should support their Muslim neighbors — which is veiled PC language for saying we should not resist jihad?” Geller said.

The ads went up in New York last week to much fanfare — and protest. A columnist who appears on cable television was caught by the New York Post defacing a poster, arguing that her “freedom of expression” was equal to that of the ads. Other signs had large “RACIST” or “HATE SPEECH” stickers added by protesters.

In court filings ahead of the hearing, AFDI said Metro is denying its constitutional right to free speech in delaying the ads based on world events. The agency “is censoring Plaintiffs’ core political speech on the basis of its viewpoint,” the group wrote.

But in AFDI’s eyes, it’s also a matter of fairness. Metro ran pro-Palestine ads with the message to “end U.S. military aid to Israel.” While those ads were last run in November 2011, the pro-Israel ad is a “direct response” to them, the group said.

Metro notes that 10 months passed between the pro-Palestine ad, paid for by DC Riders for Peace, and the AFDI ad. “In the world of mass media, 10 months is an eternity and none but the most dedicated partisan could conceivably construe the AFDI ad as a rebuttal to the Riders for Peace advertising,” WMATA said in its filing.

There are no other pending advertisements advocating either position, apart from AFDI’s in Washington, court documents show, but a group called Sojourners has said it plans to run ads in New York responding to AFDI’s “defeat jihad” series.

AFDI’s filing also turns Metro’s reasoning for delay on its head, arguing that the ad “is very timely in light of these current events in which Muslims are engaging in violent jihad in response to America’s policy toward the Middle East and to allegedly protest speech deemed critical of Islam.”

Publicly, Metro has been largely quiet on the issue and said the ads were delayed and not rejected, deferring any further comment. “We notified the advertiser that the ad would be deferred. To be clear, we have not rejected the ad; we merely asked the advertiser to be sensitive to the timing of the placement out of a concern for public safety, given current world events,” a spokesman said. “We are unable to comment beyond this, due to the ongoing nature of the litigation.”

Geller said while it was “possible” an agreement on the suit could be reached before Thursday afternoon, she deemed it “unlikely.”

Obviously these people care more about their shouting their ideology than about our overall safety. They're intending to enflame, and then they have the nerve to grouse about the cost of government when *they* are increasing the need for intelligence and crowd control work.

Too bad there's no WISDOM amongst these droogs. Kinda like the Taliban .....

If "Defeat Jihad" is racist and hate speech, then I guess Obama and the moonbats spiking the ball during the DNC about killing Bin Laden and defeating terrorism is really, really BIG racist hate speech. Give me a break. The terrorists have won.

Defeat jihad--- what a dumb ad. You can drop some nukes and wipe ALL the muslims out. Then there might be "peace". Otherwise we need to stay the hell out of these sandpit countries and come to terms with the fact that we can not remake the muslim world or any such nonsense. The perpetual and never ending money/freedom drain known as the "war on terror" is one of the most pathetic power grabs ever shafted upon the American sheeple. Protect us from the rag tag terrorist threat oh mighty rulers!-- We do not care that you have launched a war that never ends, just protect us!! And I cant help but lol @ "home of the brave". A nation of cowardly, fearful people is more like it. The more you poke the hornet nest the more the hornets will try to sting you--- you either wipe them all out, or get the hell away.

Obviously these people care more about their shouting their ideology than about our overall safety. They're intending to enflame, and then they have the nerve to grouse about the cost of government when *they* are increasing the need for intelligence and crowd control work.

Too bad there's no WISDOM amongst these droogs. Kinda like the Taliban

Well NO, this is NOTHING like the Taliban. IF you want clarity to your remark, I would suggest a visit to Afghanistan and a little "one on one" with the REAL Taliban.

That should add clarity to your ridiculous comparison.

Do you imagine that the Jihadi's and Taliban are just "worked up" by the things we say and do?

Can you imagine that they "hate you" for who you are and what your about?

I remember several years ago in the D.C. Metro systems an ad that caused quite a stir among the Jewish population in this area. It was photo of a Palestinian child going to school, but right behind him was an Israeli tank with its canon pointing in the same direction the kid was walking. The ads were taken down that same week. How can we support Israel when they have walled up the Palestinian territories??? While Reagan wished for the fall of the Berlin wall, which happened, G.W. Bush allowed the construction of a wall in the Palestinian territories.

“In my opinion, airing the AFDI Ad in the Metrorail system, while many Muslims are agitated as a result of the video, presents a danger to WMATA’s patrons and its employees,” Taborn wrote. “In my opinion, a delay in posting through October 31, 2012, presents a reasonable amount of time for volatile sentiments associated with the video to die down.”

And would the video referenced be the video no one has seen. The same video that did not cause the September 11th attacks in Egypt and Libya? That video?

Why are these lunatics even in this country? How are they able to bomb buildings, cars or whatever and shoot/kill innocent people in the United States? These individuals should be transported back to the countries they were born in not living among us!!!!